Rudolf Beer
Rudolf Beer (born August 22, 1885 in Graz , † May 9, 1938 in Vienna ) was an Austrian theater director.
Life
The actor and director in charge of the 1918-1921 Brno City Theater, 1921-24, the Vienna Raimund Theater and from 1924 to 1932, the People's Theater in Vienna.
Under Rudolf Beer, the Volkstheater was merged with the Raimund Theater , and the repertoire was strongly based on the Berlin theaters. The most important director was Karlheinz Martin with progressive productions such as Frank Wedekind's Franziska with Tilla Durieux, before he became director of the Volksbühne Berlin in 1929 , Beer invited many ensembles to guest performances, including the Moscow Chamber Theater under Alexander Tairoff or stars with their own ensembles such as Fritz Kortner or Paul Wegener . Beer was a supporter of modern literature, especially Luigi Pirandello , who was shown Henry IV with Alexander Moissi in 1926 . Moissi also played in the Schnitzler premiere Im Spiel der Sommerlüfte (1929, with Luise Ullrich ) and Hamlet in tails in a contemporary Shakespeare interpretation, one of the rare classics in the Beer direction. In 1929 Moissi even offered his legendary Jedermann , whom he played at the Salzburg Festival under Max Reinhardt . The dramaturge at the house was the author Franz Theodor Csokor . From 1931, an Elevenschule focused on young talents, including Karl Paryla and Paula Wessely , who had been part of the ensemble for a number of years (Wendla in Wedekinds Spring Awakening , 1928). Ferdinand Bruckner's historical drama Elisabeth von England celebrated triumphs on a simultaneous stage. One of the greatest box office successes was the crime play The Mary Dugan case, staged by Heinz Hilpert , with audience favorite Hansi Niese . The folk piece , which did not reach the public despite an author competition in 1927, was not very successful. In 1925 Max Pallenberg played Molnar's Liliom , in 1931 the good soldier Schwejk . Karlheinz Martin brought Hans Albers as Liliom in his Berlin version in 1930 . Emil Jannings ' appearance in Gerhart Hauptmann's Der Biberpelz (1930) and Fuhrmann Henschel (1931) was a sensation . Beer's promotion of guest performances with Berlin stars such as Fritzi Massary , Asta Nielsen , Elisabeth Bergner , Adele Sandrock , Curt Goetz , Heinz Rühmann , Conrad Veidt led to hostility and resulted in his resignation in 1932.
In 1932 Beer was appointed at short notice to succeed Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater Berlin , but his work came to an end as early as 1933 when Hitler came to power and he returned to Vienna. He founded an Elevenschule at the Deutsches Volkstheater , where he also taught. A number of highly talented actors emerged from his school, including the director Ernst Lönner , Rose Stradner , Käthe Gold , Paula Wessely , Hans Holt , Hans Jaray , Karl Paryla , Albin Skoda and Karl Skraup . In 1932 he received the professional title of professor . From 1933 to 1938 Rudolf Beer headed Scala Vienna . During this time he was also President of the Association of Austrian Theater Directors.
Rudolf Beer was particularly keen to promote contemporary literature with authors such as Frank Wedekind , Georg Kaiser and Ferdinand Bruckner . On March 14, 1930, Beer was named a citizen of the City of Vienna .
In 1938, after the German troops marched in and Austria was annexed, Beer was brought outside from a box by the NS factory cell manager Erik Frey together with Robert Valberg during a performance of Calderón's " The Judge of Zalamea " . He was supposed to be taken to Josefstädter Strasse 39 for questioning. From there, Beer was driven by Nazi thugs in the direction of Höhenstrasse . In the Vienna Woods they threw the badly abused man out of the car. In his apartment on Lerchenfelder Gürtel, he committed suicide on May 9, 1938 by turning on the gas tap.
His grave is in the main cemetery in Graz (field 16d / III / 1).
literature
- E. Offenthaler: Beer, Rudolf . In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 . 2nd revised edition (online only).
Web links
- Rudolf Beer in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
- Entry on Rudolf Beer in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paulus Manker : The Unmasking of a Hero. The unknown life of Walter Bruno Iltz . Vienna 2011
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Beer, Rudolf |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian theater director |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 22, 1885 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Graz |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 9, 1938 |
| Place of death | Vienna |